Chapter 112 Let’s set off fireworks together next year
Before the Chinese New Year, Lin Anran took Zhou Heyuan and Lin Anli to accompany Lin Anhua to Master Hao's house to give New Year gifts and wish him a happy new year. When Yang Liang and Lu Hong learned about this, they took the initiative to suggest that they go to Master Hao to wish him a happy new year together. Since Lin's mother and father, his biological parents, were not at home, Yang Liang and Lu Hong felt that they had to help.
Master Hao had known Lin Anran for a long time, not because of his disciple Lin Anhua, but because Lin Anran would come to Guangming Hotel to eat from time to time and was a good eater. Master Hao remembered Lin Anran and was very welcoming to diners who appreciated and recognized his cooking skills.
Therefore, Lin Anran and his group had a relatively smooth trip to the Hao family to pay New Year's greetings. Lin Anran also got to try some cakes that Master Hao had made specially for the New Year. They were sweet and not greasy, and very delicious.
In addition to Lin Anran and his group, Master Hao's other disciples also came with their families to pay him New Year's greetings. The Hao family's house was bustling with activity. Then, Master Hao asked his disciples to prepare a table of delicious dishes, which allowed him, as the master, to check how well they had practiced in the past year, and also allowed their families to personally taste whether their cooking skills had improved.
"Wow, we are enjoying Master Hao's pastries again, and now we can have a meal for free." Lin Anran smiled with his eyes curved.
Zhou Heyuan smiled and replied, "We got a great bargain."
Lin Anran smiled. Not having to work and still being able to eat and drink for free was really great for her. Although she didn't work at home now, Master Hao was a good cook. Master Hao didn't plan to cook today, but the skills of the disciples taught by Master Hao were indeed good. Lin Anhua, the last disciple accepted by Master Hao, had greatly improved his cooking skills. She was looking forward to it.
The two of them occasionally exchanged a few private words, but they mostly talked seriously with other people. Of course, they couldn't chat with everyone. If they couldn't chat, they would just say hello. If they could talk, they would say more. Yang Liang and Lu Hong now dealt with strangers more often and it was easier for them to get along with others. Now they were the eldest in their family, so it was most appropriate for Yang Liang and Lu Hong to come forward.
Especially Lu Hong, who is eloquent and can say whatever she wants to anyone. Lin Anran couldn't help but marvel at how much Lu Hong has changed. It turns out that as long as you dare to take risks and fight hard, nothing can stump female comrades.
"Hao Ping, go out and buy me a bottle of soy sauce." Suddenly, Master Hao shouted loudly.
The huge living room was silent for a moment, and everyone looked towards Master Hao inconspicuously. Lin Anran saw a girl about the same age as Lin Anli walking out of the kitchen, with a look of grievance and stubbornness in her eyes. Master Hao stuffed the change into her hand, and the girl named Hao Ping walked out of the house with big strides.
Everyone looked at each other, wondering what had happened between Master Hao and this girl named Hao Ping.
"Sister, I know Hao Ping is Master Hao's youngest daughter." Lin Anli explained in a low voice.
Lin Anran knew that Master Hao had two sons and one daughter. Both sons were married and were learning cooking from Master Hao. The youngest daughter seemed to be today's Hao Ping.
Although they wanted to know more, they were now sitting in the Hao family's house and it was not appropriate to gossip about the host's family situation in front of the host. Master Hao's wife came out to smooth things over and everyone continued to chat and laugh happily.
Hao Ping came back quickly with the soy sauce and went into the kitchen immediately. Master Hao glared at her and gave up because there were many guests at home today.
Lin Anran knew she couldn't resist her curiosity, so she dragged Lin Anli to the kitchen, under the pretext of seeing how Lin Anhua cooked. Master Hao's kitchen was spacious, bright, and professional, a true chef. It was fully equipped with all sorts of utensils, and even with several people busy in the kitchen, it didn't seem crowded. Lin Anran looked in through the window and spotted a girl named Hao Ping running around, sometimes handing Lin Anhua something, sometimes washing vegetables or cutting something for others, incredibly diligent in helping out.
Lin Anli was puzzled: "Sister, what is she doing?"
Lin Anran shook her head: "I don't know, I see now that she is very diligent."
"She loves to work?" Lin Anli guessed.
As they watched, the sisters' attention shifted, and they were completely focused on the dishes for lunch. Just by looking at the ingredients, they could imagine how delicious they would be when they were served on the table. Lin Anran drooled and raised her hand to touch the corner of her mouth. Fortunately, it was clean.
Lin Anran and Lin Anli's actions also made everyone curious and went to watch. After all, their family members couldn't just go to the Guangming Hotel kitchen casually. Although they would cook at home, hadn't they seen a group of brothers cooking together? This situation was rare, maybe only once a year.
Hearing the whispers of the people around her, Lin Anran was stunned. She looked at the group of chefs in the kitchen. Except for Hao Ping, all the others were men.
After staring silently for a while, Lin Anran vaguely thought of something, but she didn't reach that critical point at the moment. It was Zhou Heyuan's words that woke her up: "I heard that Master Hao's ancestral precept is to pass on the inheritance to sons, not daughters."
Lin Anran: “…”
Surprised, but not that surprised. The tradition of passing the inheritance to males but not females has been passed down since ancient times. It is not surprising that it happened to Master Hao as well.
"I heard from Anhua that Master Hao won't teach his disciples everything he knows. Master Hao doesn't teach them hand-in-hand. How much they can learn depends on the individual." Lin Anran covered his mouth and whispered to Zhou Heyuan.
Zhou Heyuan also whispered, "Anhua likes to learn cooking. We can find other chefs to teach him in the future, depending on his wishes."
Lin Anran's eyes lit up and he nodded, "That's fine. They're not direct disciples. Master Hao doesn't restrict Anhua and the others from learning cooking from other masters."
Only Master Hao's two sons received his generous teachings. No, according to Lin Anhua, Master Hao's eldest son received even more. If nothing unexpected happens, Master Hao's eldest son will be the future head chef of Guangming Hotel. However, the cooking skills of Master Hao's two sons are far inferior to Master Hao's. Their talents are average, but they have been cooking for more than 20 years. In addition, with Master Hao's unreserved guidance, they can be called chef whenever they go out.
When Master Hao accepted Lin Anhua and other disciples, he made it very clear that he would definitely teach them general recipes, but there were some recipes that only members of the Hao family could learn. This was normal. Lin Anhua and his friends were lucky to be Master Hao's disciples and they couldn't ask for more.
Chef Hao finally made a white-cut chicken with smooth skin and tender meat. A chef is a real chef. Simple dishes are a test of his skills. Everyone couldn't stop eating. Just for this dish, the trip was worth it.
At this moment, Lin Anran had no idea that she would soon eat the same super delicious boiled chicken again.
After eating and drinking their fill, everyone left Master Hao’s house and went home.
"New Year's Eve is almost here. This year, let's celebrate it together. Well, there are more people than last year." Lin Anran looked at Zhou Heyuan with a smile. She knew that Zhou Heyuan stayed in Shenzhen instead of returning to Beijing because of her. She kept his kindness in her heart.
Zhou Heyuan held her hand and said, "We didn't have time last year, but luckily we can celebrate the New Year together this year."
Lin Anran smiled even brighter: "You are speaking sweeter and sweeter now." It was nothing like before. She remembered that this man looked gentle and gentlemanly, but was actually cold and distant.
"Things are different now. There was no one to coax before." Zhou Heyuan was indeed very calm.
The young couple were talking in private, and the two twins who had been together since the womb were also talking non-stop. It was mainly Lin Anli asking questions and Lin Anhua answering, and the topic was mainly about Hao Ping.
"I saw it. Hao Ping was staring at you while you were cooking." Lin Anli stared at Lin Anhua closely.
Lin Anhua scratched his head and said, "Maybe I'm the only one who's embarrassed to stop Hao Ping from stealing my skills?"
Lin Anli was puzzled: "Stealing skills? She wants to learn how to cook, and steal your skills?"
Lin Anhua explained, and Lin Anli immediately put on a pretty face: "Master Hao is so excessive! You old stubborn man!"
"Alas, we can't do anything about this. No one can change Master Hao's idea." Lin Anhua was also helpless.
Lin Anli snorted, looked at Lin Anhua and said, "If Hao Ping wants to learn from you, just let her."
Lin Anhua chuckled, "Anyway, I won't stop you. I learned all my cooking skills from Master Hao. If Hao Ping learns from me, it doesn't count as a breach of contract, because I didn't let anyone else learn."
"You're quite clever," Lin Anli finally smiled slightly and asked, "How's Hao Ping doing? Is she doing well?"
Lin Anhua shook his head. "I don't know. I've never seen her cook. Master Hao didn't let her learn cooking. He told Hao Ping to focus on her college entrance exams. He said that as long as Hao Ping passed, he would support her studies."
Lin Anli had a complicated expression: "Then Master Hao... isn't that bad."
Unfortunately, Hao Ping seemed to want to learn cooking, but Master Hao didn't let her learn.
On New Year's Eve, the house was very lively. Lin Anhua was in charge of the kitchen, and Lin Anran and the others just helped out. Lin Anran and Zhou Heyuan went out to buy fireworks and firecrackers, planning to set them off in the evening to make it lively and add more festive atmosphere to the New Year.
Lin Anran met Hao Ping on the way back from buying fireworks. Hao Ping looked lost. She was just a little girl walking on the road. Lin Anran had no choice but to take her home. He couldn't just leave her alone, so he could just leave her to Lin Anhua.
Lin Anhua was very helpful. When he saw Hao Ping, who was absent-minded, he immediately invited Hao Ping to help in the kitchen. When Hao Ping heard the word "kitchen", her eyes lit up and she followed him without saying a word.
Lin Anran was silent: "This is the first time I know that the kitchen has so many attractions."
Zhou Heyuan: "A good kitchen is extremely attractive to chefs."
Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe there were just the right ingredients in the kitchen, but Hao Ping actually made a dish of boiled chicken. The girl looked at Lin Anran and the others nervously, wondering what they would say.
Lin Anran picked up the chicken dipping sauce and chewed it. Her eyes lit up instantly. She looked at Hao Ping with a burning gaze, gave a thumbs up, and swallowed the food in her mouth: "Super delicious, just as delicious as Master Hao's. Your dipping sauce is even better."
Hao Ping is a genius! Although I don't know if this is Hao Ping's first time making white-cut chicken, the age difference between Hao Ping and Master Hao is obvious, so no matter how they compare, Hao Ping is definitely better.
Zhou Heyuan and Lin Anli also gave positive reviews, while Lin Anhua was excited and shocked: "You are amazing! Hao Ping, I want to learn from you in the future!"
Hao Ping blushed and asked excitedly, "Are you kidding me? Is it really delicious? Even better than my dad's white-cut chicken?"
Lin Anhua answered seriously: "It's just as delicious as the one made by the chef. I can't say which one is better."
Hao Ping clenched her fists. "In the future, the white-cut chicken I make will definitely be even better than that old man's! Even if he doesn't want to teach me, I'll definitely be better than him in the future."
Lin Anran exclaimed softly, "Exciting."
Zhou Heyuan looked at her with amusement. She was just enjoying the fun, but as long as An Ran was happy, that was enough.
After dinner, Lin Anhua sent Hao Ping back to the Hao family and hurried back. He couldn't miss the fireworks at home. When everyone was gathered, Lin Anran waved his hand and said happily, "Let's go and set off the fireworks."
“Bang, bang, bang!”
Lin Anli and Lin Anhua, two little laborers, were arranged by Lin Anran to set off fireworks. Lin Anran found a good position, snuggled in Zhou Heyuan's arms and watched the fireworks fly into the sky comfortably. Then, with a bang, the fireworks bloomed vigorously in the air, one after another, and the sky was as lively as the ground.
"Heyuan, another year has passed." Lin Anran looked up at Zhou Heyuan, feeling warm all over, with a smile between his eyebrows.
Zhou Heyuan raised his hand to tuck the strands of hair that had been blown to her cheek by the cold wind behind her ear, and adjusted the furry hat on her head. Seeing her staring at him quietly with her eyes wide open, his heart moved. He leaned down and gently kissed her on the lips. After a while, he let go and whispered to her, "Anran, let's set off fireworks together next year."
Lin Anran said as if it was a matter of course: "Of course."
The two held hands, smiled at each other, and looked up at the beautiful fireworks in the sky together.
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